TV shows (Touched by an Angel) and movies (City of Angels with Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan)

Biblical images: real angels are and always will be awesome warriors for God - agents of his wrath and power. People who saw them were struck with fear. They were traumatized. E.g.:

Daniel 10:4 ff. As I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. 7I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that the fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

Angel gives message: 15While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 . . . I am overcome with anguish and I am helpless. 17How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.

Angel touches him, gives him strength, tells him not to be afraid..

LIFE reporter went to a conference of angel “enthusiasts.” Unlike the mighty heavenly beings described in the Bible, were:

a more benign and bite-size species, cuddly as a lap dog, conscientious as a school crossing guard. I heard angels likened to spiritual kissing cousins, flower delivery messengers . . . and just a nice feeling of warmth and love that washes all over you. Today’s angels seem to spend a lot less time praising God than serving us. While they are still making super-hero, nick-of-time rescues, they are also showing up in less dire emergencies to track down a set of lost keys or make a chicken casserole more flavorful. Indeed, nearly all the angel believers I met got around to mentioning their parking space angel whom they call on while cruising crowded city streets.

TIME “angels are. . . all fluff and meringue, kind, non-judgmental. They are available to everyone like aspirin.”